Originally published 17 November 2003

Imagine spending 10 months on a 72’ yacht with people who have little sailing experience, riding 50’ waves, battling with winds over 70 miles per hour, eating freeze-dried food and going for days on end without a proper wash – and paying for the privilege.

In 320 days that is exactly what Trixie Gadd, Undergraduate Programme Manager in the Business School, is going to do. All in the name of charity and personal achievement.

Sir Chay Blyth, the first solo yachtsman to sail non-stop “the wrong way” around the world, launched the Global Challenge over a decade ago in the hope of making offshore yacht racing available to everyone. The first race began in Southampton in 1992, followed in 1996 and 2000. The next Global Challenge is due to cross the starting line off the coast of Portsmouth on October 3rd 2004 – with Trixie aboard one of the 12 competing yachts.

Each yacht is home for 17 crewmembers and one professional skipper for the duration of the race, which will take them around the world in a westerly direction. The race begins by crossing the Atlantic on a 6,200-mile leg to Buenos Aires, before rounding the Cape of Good Hope and battling with the Roaring Forties en route to New Zealand. The race then takes them to Sydney, Cape Town, Boston and Northern Europe before returning to Portsmouth in the summer of 2005.

In addition to raising the £26,750 for her place, Trixie is also using her efforts to raise money for Save the Children. “Save the Children seemed to be an appropriate charity for me to raise money for, given that I work in the Education Sector,” says Trixie, who is investing a large amount of time and effort in fundraising activities.

Trixie has been holding regular cake-sales in the Business School, with the next planned for Monday 17th November, has competed in two sponsored half-marathons, a go-carting event and even organised a murder mystery programme to raise money. Her next big fundraising push will be a 30,000-metre row, due to take place after Christmas.

Trixie is looking forward to hearing who her fellow crew-members are when they are announced on January 17th. “I already consider many of the other competitors to be friends. There are a number of training sessions in preparation for the Challenge, and we’ve also been participating in mini-regattas to help us prepare, and, of course, enjoying the social life that comes with this.”

If you would like to sponsor any of Trixie’s activities, please contact her by email Trixie.Gadd@wbs.ac.uk.

For more information visit Trixie’s Global Challenge site http://www.trixiesglobalchallenge.co.uk, or the Global Challenge 2004-5 site http://www.challengebusiness.co.uk/global/index.asp